Some time ago I saw a painting by a local artist, Monte Dolack, that had fish swimming through a living room window…. I thought this was rather unique until I discovered this artist has a real ‘thing’ for “fish” art.
Then at Christmas, Geri’s mother gave us a 22 x 25 poster of one of Monte Dolacks paintings titled Stealing Fire. Now this was not of a fish theme but of a woodpecker ‘stealing’ a burning branch from a forest fire, and flying with it to another part of the forest. Seems this woodpecker has a touch of pyromania!
Growing up in Great Falls, Montana, Monte Dolack was surrounded by vast wheat fields, nuclear missile silos, and beyond them, Rocky Mountain wilderness. although he come of age in Charlie Russell country, Monte embraced the West Coast scene, playing in rock 'n' roll bands an making frequent pilgrimages to the San Francisco Bay area.
Monte studied art at Montana State University and University of Montana, and his early work was a melding of West Coast Funk and Pop Art. He opened his first studio in 1974 as a co-founder of the Missoula Warehouse Artists Co-0p, which functioned as an important arts and crafts center in Montana. There he worked in both fine arts and graphics, specializing in poster design for which he has gained an international reputation. Monte has created posters for such clients as the Literacy Volunteers of America (1991 Best of Show award from the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators), the Nature Conservancy, Defenders of Wildlife and the Telluride Film Festival. Responding to a growing number of collectors, Monte began publishing posters and notecards which are now distributed widely.
Monte is a versatile artist, painting in acrylics, oils and watercolors. He has also pursued his interest in traditional printmaking, creating editions of original lithographs which have been exhibited in numerous invitational and juried shows. Monte enjoys this medium because of its great range of visual possibilities, from the delicacy of of softly drawn lines to the richness of its of its color blends. His prints and paintings, which blends mythology, technology and elements of nature, are infused with a sense of humor and ironic undercurrents. A love of the nature world, coupled with an exuberant curiosity and extensive travel, has helped shape the content of his imagery. Monte's work continues to evolve and to provide viewers with surprises and discoveries.
Geri and I took the opportunity to finally visit his gallery on Front Street in downtown Missoula a couple weeks ago, and were amazed at the breadth of his talent. We were considering having him sign our print, and looking for ideas on how to matt and frame it for display in our home. I wanted to do the work myself as we are a bit on a budget and I like doing for myself whenever possible. As a wedding photographer, I had constructed several photo albums and framed some prints for display, so this was interesting to me.
The proprietor at Monte’s gallery was a lady I recognized as the wife of one of my former customers at Montana Harley-Davidson, and a fellow Harley Owners Group members. She said she could get a signed copy of our print for us for an additional fee if we wanted to bring in our print for an exchange. There were several signed and unsigned, framed and unframed examples of his art available at the shop, including a large selection of post card and greeting cards of his and his wife, Mary Beth Percival’s art work.
Geri and I purchased several cards to get some ideas on what art work would look good in our new home. I actually framed several of these to hang in 8x10 matted frames. I also liked the idea of enhancing the framed pieces with some pewter fish I purchased on the Internet, and also considering matting with relief cutouts in the matt for additional enhancement.
I apologize for some of the framed images seeming a bit skewed as they were a little manipulated in Photoshop to correct perspective from flash photography at an angle….
You get the idea….
Hope you like the images, and hopefully we will have some of Montes ‘real’ art hanging on our wall someday instead of just cropped postcards!!!!
Then at Christmas, Geri’s mother gave us a 22 x 25 poster of one of Monte Dolacks paintings titled Stealing Fire. Now this was not of a fish theme but of a woodpecker ‘stealing’ a burning branch from a forest fire, and flying with it to another part of the forest. Seems this woodpecker has a touch of pyromania!
Growing up in Great Falls, Montana, Monte Dolack was surrounded by vast wheat fields, nuclear missile silos, and beyond them, Rocky Mountain wilderness. although he come of age in Charlie Russell country, Monte embraced the West Coast scene, playing in rock 'n' roll bands an making frequent pilgrimages to the San Francisco Bay area.
Monte studied art at Montana State University and University of Montana, and his early work was a melding of West Coast Funk and Pop Art. He opened his first studio in 1974 as a co-founder of the Missoula Warehouse Artists Co-0p, which functioned as an important arts and crafts center in Montana. There he worked in both fine arts and graphics, specializing in poster design for which he has gained an international reputation. Monte has created posters for such clients as the Literacy Volunteers of America (1991 Best of Show award from the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators), the Nature Conservancy, Defenders of Wildlife and the Telluride Film Festival. Responding to a growing number of collectors, Monte began publishing posters and notecards which are now distributed widely.
Monte is a versatile artist, painting in acrylics, oils and watercolors. He has also pursued his interest in traditional printmaking, creating editions of original lithographs which have been exhibited in numerous invitational and juried shows. Monte enjoys this medium because of its great range of visual possibilities, from the delicacy of of softly drawn lines to the richness of its of its color blends. His prints and paintings, which blends mythology, technology and elements of nature, are infused with a sense of humor and ironic undercurrents. A love of the nature world, coupled with an exuberant curiosity and extensive travel, has helped shape the content of his imagery. Monte's work continues to evolve and to provide viewers with surprises and discoveries.
Geri and I took the opportunity to finally visit his gallery on Front Street in downtown Missoula a couple weeks ago, and were amazed at the breadth of his talent. We were considering having him sign our print, and looking for ideas on how to matt and frame it for display in our home. I wanted to do the work myself as we are a bit on a budget and I like doing for myself whenever possible. As a wedding photographer, I had constructed several photo albums and framed some prints for display, so this was interesting to me.
The proprietor at Monte’s gallery was a lady I recognized as the wife of one of my former customers at Montana Harley-Davidson, and a fellow Harley Owners Group members. She said she could get a signed copy of our print for us for an additional fee if we wanted to bring in our print for an exchange. There were several signed and unsigned, framed and unframed examples of his art available at the shop, including a large selection of post card and greeting cards of his and his wife, Mary Beth Percival’s art work.
Geri and I purchased several cards to get some ideas on what art work would look good in our new home. I actually framed several of these to hang in 8x10 matted frames. I also liked the idea of enhancing the framed pieces with some pewter fish I purchased on the Internet, and also considering matting with relief cutouts in the matt for additional enhancement.
I apologize for some of the framed images seeming a bit skewed as they were a little manipulated in Photoshop to correct perspective from flash photography at an angle….
You get the idea….
Hope you like the images, and hopefully we will have some of Montes ‘real’ art hanging on our wall someday instead of just cropped postcards!!!!
